The captains of a boxship and a tug that grounded in a UK storm have been criticised in a UK accident report.
The accident occurred following the loss of the main engine of the 340-teu feeder Thea II (built 1995) off the Humber on the evening of 15 December 2018.
The ship had to anchor to await tugs to tow it into harbour.
But the TS-Shipping-operated feeder unit dragged its anchor in gale force conditions towards the Binks shoal, the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said.
Before Thea II could be towed clear, it and one of the tugs attending, Svitzer's Svitzer Josephine, ran aground.
Search and rescue assets were deployed, but no personnel were evacuated from either vessel.
The investigation found that Thea II had lost propulsion due to the failure of its main engine governor, which could not be repaired.
"However, as the weather deteriorated and the vessel began to drag towards the Binks shoal, the master did not deploy all his remaining chain or his vessel’s second anchor," MAIB said.
"Had he done so, it would have slowed or arrested the vessel’s rate of drift and allowed more time for tugs to secure lines and tow the vessel clear."
The report also found that Svitzer Josephine grounded because its master, focused on passing the towline to the crew of Thea II, lost positional awareness and did not appreciate the rate of drift of both vessels towards the shoal.
There were no injuries and no pollution, but both vessels suffered damage.
Almost a re-grounding
Thea II refoated on the rising tide.
However, despite the best efforts of the harbourmaster, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and local tugs, in difficult weather conditions, Thea II’s manager only agreed salvage terms two and a half later, under the threat of formal direction from the UK Secretary of State’s Representative, MAIB found.
This delay almost led to Thea II re-grounding, risking damage to an environmentally sensitive area, it added.
The delay was due to the manager’s lack of awareness of the vessel’s situation, MAIB said, as it could not speak to the master by phone.
As a result of this accident, action has been taken by Associated British Ports Humber and Svitzer Marine, to review their risk assessments and operating procedures.
"The Secretary of State’s Representative has continued an industry wide engagement programme to promote a greater understanding of his role," MAIB said.
A recommendation has been made to TS-Shipping to review its emergency response organisation and procedures.
The company has also reviewed the safety-critical engine spares carried on Thea II with the engine manufacturer, the report said.
